5/12 Initial Thoughts

I think the first phrase of the Growing Cooler article sums up my reaction to the reading and thoughts, and that "you can't get there from here." When I look at my life alone, which I would consider fairly reflective of an average American, the phrase is quite fitting. Living at home still, several miles from school, work, shops, entertainment facilities, etc. walking is definitely not feasible without spending majority of the day walking. I ride my bike to school when I can but it's nothing short of a 35 minute drive. When it rains or I have to other places to go after school, riding my bike becomes a much less appealing option. There are no public transit stops within miles of my house, so my only option left short of quitting school and work is to drive a vehicle. This vehicle travel, is reflected for commuters, commerce, shipping, etc.

This sprawl is a very unsustainable example of infrastructure and development. With this current infrastructure and sprawl, CO2 emission reduction really is a point that we can't get to from here. My vehicle and VMT's is a similar figure to the other three driving members of family, all other families in my neighborhood, all other neighborhoods in this community, and all communities in this region. So now we have a nation made up of sprawling regions with very unsustainable infrastructure.

Similar to mass water use for domestic use, a similar statistic translates to fuel usage. Our lifestyles depend on the car. Granted I could drive a Prius and get better gas mileage, I would still be driving and filling up my tank in order to get those 50 mpg, which would reduce my fuel consumption but nothing more. It seems the only true solution to both fuel and water issues is re-structuring. This is a sustainable solution. By building with and in combination with our water sheds instead of on them, and constructing regions that allows people to walk or bike to school, work, shops, and entertainment, our water and fuel use would become much more sustainable. It's hard to imagine being able to walk to the places I drive to most, but I'm looking forward to the opportunity!